The cracks mostly occur in the middle of the tongue and they may come in various sizessmall and largebig. Tongue diagnosis is a primary method in chinese medicine for understanding whats happening inside the bodyits the other mri of traditional medical systems. In ayurveda, one of the primary investigative tools of practitioners for determining the state of ones health is tongue diagnosis or evaluation of the tongue. She received her ba and md from the university of washington, did her internship in the air force the second female ever to do so, and was the first female graduate of the air force family practice residency at eglin air force base. If the tongue body is also moist, tender, and swollen, this can indicate yang cold. Therefore, it is a great diagnostic tool to understand the health of the internal organs as well as the overall health of the human body. A crack that does not extend to the tip heart area indicates a deficiency of the stomach yin. Tongue diagnosis in chinese medicine by giovanni maciocia. The appearance of multiple small cracks all over the tongue is a clear indicator of a strong, chronic vata derangement such as high anxiety, fear, insomnia, and possibly a nervous system disorder. Cracks in a red tongue indicate deficient yin or heat injuring the fluids. It can present strong visual indicators of a persons overall harmony or disharmony. Cracked tongue is a condition in which the top visible surface of your tongue gets cracks or fissures these tongue cracks might go unnoticed because of their benign effects, but they change the tongue appearance. Dec 22, 2019 the appearance of multiple small cracks all over the tongue is a clear indicator of a strong, chronic vata derangement such as high anxiety, fear, insomnia, and possibly a nervous system disorder.
Vertical crack on the tongue usually indicates the exhaustion of your body fluids specifically yin deficiency. The tongue has a special relationship with the heart, in that. Harriet hall, md also known as the skepdoc, is a retired family physician who writes about pseudoscience and questionable medical practices. Seasons of the year in summer, there may be more dampness present in the tongue coating, leaving it slightly thicker and light yellow. Quite a number of individuals suffer from this condition. Understanding diagnostic reasoning in tcm practice. We call this purplish color dusky and it shows stagnation of some kind, either qi. Read on to learn what these cracks mean, how they look in pictures, causes including vitamin deficiency plus gluten. What your tongue says about your health eu yan sang. The symptoms of a fissured tongue are cracks on top surface of the tongue. Tongue diagnosis is a practice long used in traditional chinese medicine a system of alternative medicine that originated in china.
Ask the patient not to brush their tongue, at least the day of their tcm tongue diagnosis. Generally speaking, a heart crack indicates a constitutional propensity to heart patterns and to emotional problems. When the tongue is examined, a number of things are taken into consideration. Tongue diagnosis is a key process used in chinese medicine and there is. A physician will observe multiple characteristics of the tongue such as the tongues colour, coating and movement. A vertical crack down the centre of the tongue shows up a problem with the stomach, or heart and stomach, depending on the length of the crack.
It is not common to need a biopsy of a fissured tongue. Your tongue plays a unique role in understanding your bodys constitution. During an examination, the overall tongue coating, shape, and color is taken into account. The cracks, they might be congenital, otherwise they mean something has eaten up the fluids. Diagnosis through tongue acupuncture and chinese medicine. Sep 06, 2018 the symptoms of a fissured tongue are cracks on top surface of the tongue.
Most common is the longitudinal midline crack running up the centre or the tongue from back to front. If the tongue body also has cracks and there is little or no tongue coat, this usually indicates deficient heat due to. A misguided study to test the reliability of traditional. Integrating nextgeneration sequencing and traditional. It will often be necessary to crossreference several or all of these aspects to establish a full picture. In tcm, the tongue is known as an internal organ that you can see from the outside. If there is insufficient blood in the heart, the tongue may appear pale. Jun 14, 2016 the tongue is a map of the body in chinese medicine. Knowledge of tongue diagnosis is one of the unique treasures of traditional chinese medicine tcm. Cracks in or on your tongue is for sure a scary condition. Tongue diagnosis is a noninvasive, simple and valuable diagnostic tool that has been repeatedly testified by clinical practitioners of traditional chinese medicine tcm for at least 3,000 years fig. However, it is not recommended to diagnose this condition by yourself.
Over time, chinese medicine has observed that certain parts of the tongue relate to certain parts of the body. Join aaron zizov, a tcm practitioner with over 15 years of clinical experience, as he shares his tongue diagnosis system. Most causes of a cracked tongue have distinctive and telltale symptoms, so a visual inspection followed by a medical history can accurately determine most culprits. Tcm treats tongue appearance as an outer manifestation of the status of the human body. Tongue diagnosis is an integral part of taking a medical history in chinese medicine. When a practitioner of tcm looks at a patients tongue heshe is looking at many things such as the tongue body, shape, movement, coating as well as the yin and yang organs reflected on the tongue. In fall or autumn, the tongue may be thinner with a coating that is more dry. Changes in the tongue color usually reflect chronic illness. However, most fissures occur in the middle of the tongue. If you find cracks on a pale tongue, it usually means that the qi and the blood is deficient. Tongue diagnosis in tcm acupuncture theory chinese medicine. Chronic yin deficiency leads to emptyheat and we know in this case that the blood stasis derives. Tongue assessment in traditional chinese medicine tcm.
For our herbalists, the tongue helps us select the proper herbal formula. Heres exactly how to do it, and how to find out what it says about your health. There are several shapes such crack and fissure on the surface of tongue, which differ in depth and numbers. It is simply when small or pronounced grooves or fissures develops on the surface of your tongue. Tongue diagnosis is a very traditional and effective method which has been used to diagnose diseases for over two thousand years. In this simplified guide, we have selected some major tongue characteristics for. A peeled or cracked tongue coat indicates insufficient lining or flora in the digestive system. Chinese tongue diagnosis is used by practioners to help identify problem areas, confirm diagnosis of illness and provides an overall picture of ones health. Colour of the tongue body, including red prickles or black dots coating on the tongue surface colour, thickness, dryness or. In this simplified guide, we have selected some major tongue characteristics for you to perform your own examination.
The tongue coat, which often shows up on the middle or at the back of the tongue, lets you know how well you are metabolizing the food you eat. Geographic tongue usually accompany cracked tongue. This is how i explain tcm tongue diagnosis to my patients. Tongue diagnosis is a primary method in chinese medicine for understanding whats happening inside the bodyits the other mri of traditional. Many cracks on tongue fissured tongue ayurvedic diet.
Tongue cracks are hereditary, and rarely cause and problem. The demarcations that you look for are cracks or raised areas. Mar 25, 2016 a cracked tongue diagnosis usually involves looking at the tongue to see what else is occurring alongside the cracks. Vertical crack on the tongue usually indicates the exhaustion of your body fluids. These tongue cracks might go unnoticed because of their benign effects, but they change the tongue appearance. Discover what a tongue diagnosis of cracks on your tongue means and how to remedy a cracked tongue with ayurveda. If the tongue body also has cracks and there is little or no tongue coat, this usually indicates deficient heat due to internal injury. When a chinese practitioner carries our his diagnosis through tongue session, he would take notes of the following. The tongue reflects the health of the internal organs and blood circulation. Now they have a bright red tongue with cracks and its peeled. If there is no tongue fur over the crack or fissure, the fissure belongs to pathologic changes. According to the principles of tcm, analyzing the appearance of an individuals tongue can provide a greater understanding of his or her overall health. There is no movement quivering, trembling, sidetoside motion, curling or shifting to one side. In fact you will mostly only notice signs of a cracked tongue during your regular dental checkup.
But if the tongue is pale and cracked, deficient qi or xue is present. For example, practioners can often detect digestive issues, internal organ disease and even anxiety. Fissured tongue occurs in as many as 80% of children with the chromosomal disorder down syndrome. The tongue is totally peeled without coating and with many cracks, both signs of chronic yin deficiency. It can present strong visual indicators of a persons overall. Tcm practitioners rely on tongue diagnosis to differentiate one syndrome from another, and use variations in the tongues colour, texture, shape and coating to evaluate a patients condition. Cracks in on tongue, fissured,causes, vitamin deficiency. Since the tongue always reflects the basic, underlying pattern, it is extremely reliable, especially whenever there are. Cracked tongue, also referred to as fissured tongue is common according to medical practitioners during diagnosis. To contrast and compare the heart and stomach cracks, the former is rather narrow and runs all along the tongue from near the root to near the tip, while the latter is rather wide and is only in the middle of the tongue. The most common tongue indicators are cracks, ravines and coatings ie. A tongue without cracks is frequently soft and supple. The foundation of tongue diagnosis is that the tongue reflects the general state of health of the individual, and a corresponding system exists between the tongues topography and the bodys organ systems. This is a common tongue when people have been sitting for too long or for women.
It is considered a pillar of diagnosis because it provides clearly visible clues to a patients pattern of disease. What your tongue coating is telling you the body ecology. Cracked tongue pictures, causes, diagnosis, treatment. Another sign of yin deficiency is a tongue with deep cracks. How tongue diagnosis works by transformational acupuncture.
A central short crack in the middle of the tongue often indicates stomach yin. If there is blood stagnation, the tongue will reflect this with a dark purple color. If the crack extends to the tip, and especially if there is a forking. The tongue is a map of the body in chinese medicine. The tongue will be a healthy red color when this organ is in balance. The basics of this art can be learned in a single day or less. Tcm doctors rely on tongue diagnosis to differentiate one syndrome from another, and use variations in the tongue s colour, texture, shape and coating to evaluate a patients condition. A cracked tongue diagnosis usually involves looking at the tongue to see what else is occurring alongside the cracks. It has a look of aliveness and is supple not stiff. Chinese tongue diagnosis poster 18 x 24 acupuncture. His unique system has enabled him to uncover the underlying emotional and physical conditions of his patients within seconds. Possible causes include food allergy, biting the tongue, malabsorbtion of vitamin b, colon imbalance and other factors.
The color of the tongue body, its size, and shape, the color and thickness of the coating is an indication of abnormalities. According to tcm theory, the tongue provides a geographic map of organ systems. The fissures or grooves vary in sizes and can either be deep or shallow and may be as deep as six millimeters. Treatment for irritation include vitamin and zinc supplements, and treatment for pain include pain revilers and antiinflammatory drugs. Jan 25, 2017 vertical crack on the tongue usually indicates the exhaustion of your body fluids specifically yin deficiency. Tongue diagnosis tongue diagnosis is part of diagnosis by looking in traditional chinese medicine tcm. Tongue diagnosis is an ancient indian diagnosis technique in which many health issues can be diagnosed. But in ayurveda, cracks on your tongue tell an important story. We call this purplish color dusky and it shows stagnation of some kind, either qi or blood stagnation. Also a habit of grinding the teeth while a sleep can subject the tongue to a friction that causes cracks over a long time. Tongue diagnosis and analysis natural health techniques. Tcm doctors rely on tongue diagnosis to differentiate one syndrome from another, and use variations in the tongues colour, texture, shape and coating to evaluate a patients condition. Possible causes include food allergy, biting the tongue. If the tongue body also has cracks and there is little or no tongue coat, this usually.
The stomach crack on the tongue is rather wide and it is in the central section of the tongue corresponding to middle burner. Chronic yin deficiency leads to emptyheat and we know in this case that the blood stasis derives from heat as the tongue is a reddishpurple colour. Tongue diagnosis in tcm acupuncture theory tcm acupuncture theory. Subjecting your tongue to constant injuries or trauma as a result of brushing too aggressively or friction from chipped tooth can cause cracks or fissures to develop on your tongue. And with the correct system of tongue diagnosis, we can identify the root of the problem immediately. A peeled or cracked tongue coat indicates insufficient lining or flora in the. A light, thin, white tongue coat reflects healthy digestive function. The colour, coating, shape, wetness and cracks of the tongue map out the condition of your internal organs as well as your mental and emotional health. In ayurveda, one of the primary investigative tools of practitioners for determining the state of ones health is tongue diagnosis or evaluation of the tongue the tongue is the beginning of the digestive. As you look at your tongue then, check the following regularly, note their location on the tongue, as well as any changes over time. Taking into account swelling of the tongue body your teeth marks it confirms the yin deficiency in the spleen and accumulation of damp.
Tcm tongue diagnosis is considered a pillar of tcm diagnosis because it provides clearly visible clues to a patients pattern of disharmony. Tonguethe tongue is one of the major pillars of diagnosis, the other main one being the pulse. It is considered normal to have certain types of cracks on the tongue. If wide and not deep it points to stomach yin deficiency usually. According to the american academy of oral medicine i, fissure tongue occurs in about 5% of the population in us. A normal tongue is pink in color, medium thickness, no cracks, ulcers, no teeth marks and with a light white moist coat with root on it. Most causes of a cracked tongue have distinctive and telltale symptoms, so a visual inspection followed by a medical history.
Traditional chinese medicine tongue diagnosis carahealth. Tongue diagnosis is a highly skilled practice with thousands of tongue variations representing hundreds of conditions and is just one of the tools that a chinese medical doctor uses to analyse. Indicates the quality of blood, reflecting blood andor qi deficiency or cold. The color of the tongue body, its size, and shape, the color and. Colour of the tongue body, including red prickles or black dots coating on the tongue surface colour, thickness, dryness or moistness of the coating shape of the tongue fissures cracks in the tongue. Chinese tongue diagnosis poster 18 x 24 laminated or heavy weight paper chinese tongue examination is much, much easier to master than chinese pulse examination. If the cracks are only located on one area of the tongue, this may reveal chronic high vata in that correlating organ i. Diy ayurvedic tongue diagnosis john douillards lifespa. Jun 24, 2017 cracked tongue is a condition in which the top visible surface of your tongue gets cracks or fissures. The four examinations, part 2 tongue diagnosis in chinese. It is likely that the yin deficiency preceded the blood stasis. It is therefore very useful and important during inspection for confirming tcm diagnosis.
A cracked tongue is a benign condition with multiple small but furrows, fissures or grooves visible on the dorsal of the tongue. Tongue coating in the first place, the properties of tongue coating should be examined. In some cases, the cracks may cause burning sensation while consuming specific food type or may leave you tasteless too. Tongue diagnosis has been used for thousands of years in traditional chinese medicine. Chinese tongue diagnosis is an essential tool used by tcm practitioners. If you find cracks that are horizontal, that almost always means yin insufficiency. She received her ba and md from the university of washington, did her internship in the air force the second.
The tongue has many relationships and connections in the body, both to the meridians and the internal organs. The four examinations, part 2 tongue diagnosis in chinese medicine 1. The four examinations, part 2 tongue diagnosis in chinese medicine. In traditional chinese medicine, its an ancient practice to read the tongue. Thorny eruptions of the buds on the tongue alert the doctor to heat or stagnant xue. Tongue diagnosis is an important part of the chinese medical assessment. Cracked or grooved tongue is also known as scrotal tongue. Cracks or lines down the center of the tongue also indicate a potential heart function issue. Find out what your tongue is telling you the whoot. A cracked pale tongue indicates insufficiency of yin and blood. Tongue diagnosis is a primary method in chinese medicine for. In chinese medicine, each type of tongue quality relates to a chinese diagnosis, as well as particular physical and mentalemotional symptoms.
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